


Better the Devil You Do Know Than the Devil You Don't

by CWMaddy



Series: The Doppelgänger Series [2]
Category: Glee, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Crossover, Confused Barry, Gen, Santana and Cisco are cousins, Santana is protective of her family, Sebastian probably already has and will continue to ruin Barry's life, Yay Protective!Santana, doppelgangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5796982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CWMaddy/pseuds/CWMaddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Barry wants is to have a peaceful afternoon walk, alone without any evil metahumans or rude and annoying pedestrians. Unfortunately, the universe has always had a thing with conspiring against his wishes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better the Devil You Do Know Than the Devil You Don't

Barry loved running. He loved the wind whipping at his face and the way his whole body felt light and free. He loved watching peoples' expressions become confused in slow motion when their hair or coats were ruffled by a sudden and unexpected burst of wind. 

After getting his speed, nothing around Barry seemed to go fast enough for him. Everyone went at their own painstakingly boring pace of slow and steady. Barry couldn't stand having to wait for everyone to move, to do _something_ other than torture him with their sluggish strides. So now, whenever he had the chance he would run as fast as he could to where he was trying to go. His patience just wasn't the same anymore. 

But today wasn't one of those days. Today was different somehow. The mid-afternoon autumn sun gave off a warm feeling against the crisp breeze hinting at the upcoming winter. The streets weren't too crowded for a Saturday afternoon, so Barry took it upon himself to relax and enjoy a peaceful walk to S.T.A.R. Labs for once. 

As he walked, calmly and without rushing, Barry took in the colorful yellows and reds and browns of the leaves that fell from the trees around him, he observed the fluffy clouds above him that were perched contently in the blue sky, and he sighed. He had really missed being able to do this without the constant buzz of the speed force itching at him underneath his skin. 

The moment was ruined when an angry voice from behind him shouted, "Hey, Meerkat!"

Unsure if the voice was referring to him, Barry continued walking. But suddenly, a hand grasped his shoulder and lurched him backwards, turning him forcefully to become face to face with a pissed-off looking woman who was probably in her early twenties. 

"What do you think you're doing, ignoring me?" The woman demanded. 

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Barry asked, trying to use the most polite voice he could despite this stranger's attitude towards him. He really didn't want his good mood to be ruined now.

The woman laughed condescendingly. "Don't pull that garbage with me, Twink. I've got a bone to pick with you," she growled. 

"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I'm actually on my way to meet some friends, so I should be going..." Barry turned and began walking away, but the woman yelled something at him that made him stop in his tracks. 

"What do you want with Cisco Ramon?!" She called. 

Barry turned back sharply to face her, now curious about how this stranger knew Cisco. He observed the woman; took in her black shoulder-length hair and dark eyes, her self-satisfying smirk, and her sun-kissed golden skin. This person knew Cisco somehow. Then it clicked. 

"You must be Cisco's cousin!" He exclaimed with a smile. "He's been talking about how you were going to be visiting the city for two weeks now!" Barry walked back up to her, and held out a hand. 

"I'm Barry Allen," he introduced. 

Cisco's cousin, who Barry couldn't remember the name of, looked at his hand in revulsion, then slapped it away. "Don't pretend we've only just met! I know you remember me! What kind of stupid alias is _Barry Allen_ , anyway? It sounds like a name from some cheesy cop show from the seventies," 

Barry frowned, once again beyond confused, and a bit offended. He remembered that Cisco had mentioned his cousin could have a bit of a scary temper, one that could make Satan himself shake in his boots. 

"Santana!" Barry said in revelation, finally remembering what Cisco had said his cousin's name was. 

"Obviously. As if you could've forgotten," Santana sneered as she rolled her eyes. "I want to know why you're conversing with my cousin and why you think you have the right to mess with my family at all," she growled. 

"Excuse me? Cisco and I are good friends, what's wrong with that?" He asked, his tone hardening slightly.

"You're an evil psychopath, that's what's wrong!" Santana shouted, and Barry tried to ignore the few people walking that stared at them weirdly as they passed the two. "So when I see pictures on my cousin's phone of him and my high school rival together laughing and smiling, I don't take it lightly!" 

Barry lowered his voice, shifting awkwardly. "Santana, I barely know you. But people are starting to stare, and you're kind of making a scene, so can we just talk about this later in a less public environment?" He tried to persuade. 

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because suddenly Santana had raised a hand to slap him, and he only caught her by the wrist because of his super speed. She pulled out of his grip, and pointed a threatening finger in his face. 

"Stay away from Cisco, Sebastian. _I mean it_ ," Santana spoke menacingly, and stomped off. 

Barry stood there in shock for a moment, before he shook himself as if to be rid of the confrontation and started walking again. His peaceful afternoon now ruined, Barry battled internally with his thoughts. Who was Sebastian? Why did Santana hate him so much, and how did she confuse Sebastian with him? Finally, how could Cisco -quirky, silly Cisco who always made pop culture references and cracked jokes- be related to someone so vile?

Out of everything, all of the questions and lack of sensible answers, Barry only knew two things for sure. He hoped Cisco didn't invite him to hang out while Santana was visiting, and he prayed that she wasn't staying for long.

**Author's Note:**

> The idiom "Better the devil you do know than the devil you don't" means "If you have to choose between a familiar but unpleasant situation and an unfamiliar situation, choose the familiar one because the unfamiliar situation may turn out to be worse." I thought this worked perfectly for the theme of this one shot.
> 
> Also, Cisco and Santana are cousins because I felt like it, and I thought it'd be fun to play with the whole "don't mess with my family" vibe that Santana always gave off when around Sebastian. But this time, she's worried for Cisco and is yelling at Barry! *cheers*


End file.
